Argyll Hope Spot Exhibition

Part of our Earth Month programme

Dates: Tuesday 18th April to Saturday 6th May 2023
Times: Open daily 10am-4pm
Place: Silver Birch Gallery, The Rockfield Centre
Age: All ages
Cost: Free

Art exhibition

The Argyll Coast and Islands Hope Spot is a community-led celebration of this part of Scotland’s world-class natural riches. It is the first Hope Spot in mainland UK. Hope Spots are special places, vital for the ocean’s health, linked by the international organisation Mission Blue. This growing global network also includes the Galapagos Islands and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Collectively, Hope Spots are creating a global wave of community support for ocean conservation that policymakers cannot ignore.

The Argyll Coast & Islands Hope Spot stretches from Ardnamurchan to Loch Sween. It includes four Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), Special Areas of Conservation, National Scenic Areas and National Nature Reserves.

Over the summers of 2021 and 2022 Argyll Hope Spot invited groups of artists to take part in a snorkelling artists residency; to learn, explore and make work under the waves. Artists developed new skills, made connections and collected material to help them further their own practice. They worked on the shore and in the water - even sketching whilst snorkelling. Their work brought to life scenes that we don’t normally see, and are not often represented through art. Audiences have found their work captivating and it really helped to shine a light on the importance of the habitats within the Argyll Hope Spot.

This exhibition, featuring work from a diverse range of artists, is an opportunity to see some of the work emerging from these residencies, and to get to know the incredible species and habitats of Argyll’s coast a little bit better.

Featured Artists:

Christina Riley / The Nature Library

Argyll Hope Spot

The first in mainland UK, Argyll Coasts & Islands Hope Spot is an organisation shedding light on the immense beauty, rich history & vibrant life of the Argyll coast & islands.

What is special about this area? In Scotland, Argyll’s biodiversity is second only to St Kilda, with a range of habitats from sheltered sea lochs fringed by ancient oakwoods, rocky peninsulas, narrows and islands, to the world’s second-largest whirlpool; the Gulf of Corryvreckan. The coastal environment supports an impressive range of birds and mammals and the breath-taking scenery in four National Scenic Areas on land is surpassed underwater, where the seabed plunges to 200m just offshore.

The Hope Spot encompasses Marine Protected Areas, Special Areas for Conservation and a host of Priority Marine Features, which show how precious and diverse our sea life is. 

From kelp forests to maerl beds, seagrass to soft corals and rocky reefs, there are habitats suited to so many species. Above the waves you can find birds including eagles, guillemots, razorbills, puffins, kittiwakes, gannets, gulls, shags and terns. You might glimpse basking sharks, seals, porpoises and otters as they break the surface. Diving down you will come across salmon, sea trout and, coasting at depths of 100-200m, the critically endangered flapper skate. This is one of the largest fish in Scottish waters, reaching nearly 3m in length and over 100 kg in weight. They may live for a century. When you reach the seabed you will find reefs built by serpulid worms, beautiful northern feather stars, flame shells and native oysters.

The Hope Spot contains much of cultural significance too, and many people have their homes and make their living here. Its combination of economic, cultural and environmental value demonstrates the vital connection between coastal communities and their local waters.

The Hope Spot is a community-led initiative. Its designation is a celebration and recognition of the natural riches of this part of Scotland’s coast. For generations, these have sustained the coastal communities scattered across this beautiful and diverse landscape.